Background Balanced steady-state free precession MR angiography （b-SSFP MRA） has shown great promise in diagnosing renal artery stenosis （RAS） as a non-contrast MR angiography （NC-MRA） method. However, results f...Background Balanced steady-state free precession MR angiography （b-SSFP MRA） has shown great promise in diagnosing renal artery stenosis （RAS） as a non-contrast MR angiography （NC-MRA） method. However, results from related studies are inconsistent. The purpose of this meta-analysis was to assess the accuracy of b-SSFP MIRA compared to contrast-enhanced MR angiography （CE-MRA） in diagnosing RAS. Methods English and Chinese studies that were published prior to September 4, 2013 and that assessed b-SSFP MRA diagnostic performance in RAS patients were reviewed. Quality of the literature was assessed independently by two observers. The statistical analysis was adopted by the software of Meta-Disc version 1.4. Using the heterogeneity test, a statistical effect model was chosen to calculate different pooled weighted values. The receiver operator characteristic （ROC） space and Spearman correlation coefficient were to explore threshold effect. Sensitivity analysis and the publication bias were performed to demonstrate if the pooled estimates were stable and reliable. We produced forest plots to calculate the pooled values and corresponding 95% confidence interval （Cl） of sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio （PLR）, negative likelihood ratio （NLR）, diagnostic odds ratio （DOR）, and constructed a summary receiver operating characteristic curve （SROC） to calculate the area under the curve （AUC）. Results A total of 10 high quality articles were used in this meta-analysis. The studies showed a high degree of heterogeneity. The ＂shoulder-arm＂ shape in the ROC plot and the Spearman correlation coefficient between the log（SEN） and Iog（1-SPE） suggested that there was a threshold effect. Sensitivity analysis demonstrated that the actual combined effect size was equal to the theoretical combined effect size. The publication bias was low after quality evaluation of the literature and the construction of a funnel plot. The pooled sensitivity was 0.88 （95% CI, 0.83-0.91） and pooled specificity was 0.94 （95% CI, 0.93-0.95）; pooled PLR was 14.57 （95% CI, 9.78-21.71]） and pooled NLR was 0.15 （95% CI, 0.11- 0.20）. The AUC was 0.964 3. Conclusion In contrast to CE-MRA, the b-SSFP MIRA is more accurate in diagnosing RAS, and may be able to replace other diagnostic methods in patients with renal insufficiency.展开更多
In this review, we give a retrospect of the recent progress in nonequilibrium statistical mechanics and thermodynamics in small dynamical systems. For systems with only a few number of particles, fluctuations and nonl...In this review, we give a retrospect of the recent progress in nonequilibrium statistical mechanics and thermodynamics in small dynamical systems. For systems with only a few number of particles, fluctuations and nonlinearity become sig- nificant and contribute to the nonequilibrium behaviors of the systems, hence the statistical properties and thermodynamics should be carefully studied. We review recent developments of this topic by starting from the Gallavotti-Cohen fluctuation theorem, and then to the Evans-Searles transient fluctuation theorem, Jarzynski free-energy equality, and the Crooks fluc- tuation relation. We also investigate the nonequilibrium free energy theorem for trajectories involving changes of the heat bath temperature and propose a generalized free-energy relation. It should be noticed that the non-Markovian property of the heat bath may lead to the violation of the free-energy relation.展开更多
文摘Background Balanced steady-state free precession MR angiography （b-SSFP MRA） has shown great promise in diagnosing renal artery stenosis （RAS） as a non-contrast MR angiography （NC-MRA） method. However, results from related studies are inconsistent. The purpose of this meta-analysis was to assess the accuracy of b-SSFP MIRA compared to contrast-enhanced MR angiography （CE-MRA） in diagnosing RAS. Methods English and Chinese studies that were published prior to September 4, 2013 and that assessed b-SSFP MRA diagnostic performance in RAS patients were reviewed. Quality of the literature was assessed independently by two observers. The statistical analysis was adopted by the software of Meta-Disc version 1.4. Using the heterogeneity test, a statistical effect model was chosen to calculate different pooled weighted values. The receiver operator characteristic （ROC） space and Spearman correlation coefficient were to explore threshold effect. Sensitivity analysis and the publication bias were performed to demonstrate if the pooled estimates were stable and reliable. We produced forest plots to calculate the pooled values and corresponding 95% confidence interval （Cl） of sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio （PLR）, negative likelihood ratio （NLR）, diagnostic odds ratio （DOR）, and constructed a summary receiver operating characteristic curve （SROC） to calculate the area under the curve （AUC）. Results A total of 10 high quality articles were used in this meta-analysis. The studies showed a high degree of heterogeneity. The ＂shoulder-arm＂ shape in the ROC plot and the Spearman correlation coefficient between the log（SEN） and Iog（1-SPE） suggested that there was a threshold effect. Sensitivity analysis demonstrated that the actual combined effect size was equal to the theoretical combined effect size. The publication bias was low after quality evaluation of the literature and the construction of a funnel plot. The pooled sensitivity was 0.88 （95% CI, 0.83-0.91） and pooled specificity was 0.94 （95% CI, 0.93-0.95）; pooled PLR was 14.57 （95% CI, 9.78-21.71]） and pooled NLR was 0.15 （95% CI, 0.11- 0.20）. The AUC was 0.964 3. Conclusion In contrast to CE-MRA, the b-SSFP MIRA is more accurate in diagnosing RAS, and may be able to replace other diagnostic methods in patients with renal insufficiency.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 11075016)the Foundation for Doctoral Training from the Ministry of Education of China (Grant No. 20100003110007)
文摘In this review, we give a retrospect of the recent progress in nonequilibrium statistical mechanics and thermodynamics in small dynamical systems. For systems with only a few number of particles, fluctuations and nonlinearity become sig- nificant and contribute to the nonequilibrium behaviors of the systems, hence the statistical properties and thermodynamics should be carefully studied. We review recent developments of this topic by starting from the Gallavotti-Cohen fluctuation theorem, and then to the Evans-Searles transient fluctuation theorem, Jarzynski free-energy equality, and the Crooks fluc- tuation relation. We also investigate the nonequilibrium free energy theorem for trajectories involving changes of the heat bath temperature and propose a generalized free-energy relation. It should be noticed that the non-Markovian property of the heat bath may lead to the violation of the free-energy relation.
